The Missing Grain
by Abrista
Summary: Hermione is no longer one of three...now twenty years in the past, the brunette beauty has to go on her own adventure while dealing with the servere loss of her best friends. Who better to replace them, then Harry's parents and friends? HG/SB eventually
1. The Smallest Piece

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 _The Smallest Piece_

One Hermione Granger sat rather sullenly on a rather conventional trunk looking like a rather normal teenager. Which wasn't true. The trunk was deceptive, normal on the outside, and filled with all sorts of magical anomalies to someone in the muggle world. For a witch like Hermione though, it was all considered the norm.

Having sent her parents off the moment before, she was left by herself with said grumpy expression across her face and a great desire to take back the past few minutes.

'Stupid bloody parents,' she thought angrily to herself. 'They just don't understand where I'm coming from, I can't keep myself from danger, I have to be with Harry for the war.' She kicked her heel back, driving it with a dull thud into her trunk and wincing painfully.

The entire car trip to London had been done in a rather doleful silence. Hermione hadn't met up with Harry and Ron over the summer so her parents were driving her again. That seemed to be a mistake, because they couldn't stand the fact that their baby girl was off to try saving the world and probably die in the process. A world which they weren't part of, although Hermione had tried to tell them that the muggle world was being affected too.

It hurt though, and Hermione drew her knees up and cradled her head in the created space. Her face became suspiciously heated and blotches formed across her cheeks as a minute later tears were gently weeping down from her eyes.

A good sob later, Hermione checked her watch to realize she only had five minutes to go until the train would leave. She slowly got up from her trunk, stretching her legs luxuriously as she did so as they had become rather cramped from the extended odd position. With a grunt, she looked at the time to see she only had three minutes to go. Hermione grabbed her trunk and began to drag it forcefully across the station to where the barrier to the magical world lay. A smile was already forming on her lips as she anticipated the reaction her friends would have on her new appearance, minus the signs of crying.

There was a minute and a half to go as Hermione aligned herself with the barrier, ready to just push through with the ease of having done so over a dozen times already. 'Quick, quick,' she thought to herself as she calmed her racing heart, thoughts cast back to when Dobby the house elf had sealed the barrier against Ron and Harry. 'What if the barrier seals or the train leaves – No… no, that wouldn't happen.'

As Hermione began to push forward, the edge of her cart already grazing the barrier, there was a sudden lurch and a black haired man banged into her trunk and somersaulted over sending the trunk crashing to the ground in a loud crash.

"Oh no, oh no!" Hermione cried out, darting forward to gather up the spilling things.

The man apologized profusely as he tried to help her clean up the mess, grumbling under his breath all the while for her having had her trunk in such an awkward spot.

With a sudden scream, Hermione dived to the ground, the items in her arms spilling out as she caught sight of her wand. She cast a quick glance around before dipping her head, too many muggles to perform magic. On all fours, Hermione panted heavily while shoving her wand up her sleeve in what she hoped was an unnoticeable manner. Lameting her fate, it wasn't until a moment later that she caught sight of the time, 15 seconds to go!

The nearest items were thrown into the trunk as Hermione dashed around at an inhumane speed. Ten seconds. Her lungs burned. 'Just one last trip should do it,' she thought, smiling to the man who had helped her. He was trying to say something to her, but she didn't have time to listen.

Five seconds to go. The trunk wouldn't close after the final items were deposited in. Not caring, she glanced around and slammed the cart against the barrier only to be thrown five feet back as her cart ricocheted diagonally and narrowly missing the man who had tumbled over it before.

"What are you, crazy?" he screeched at her, his eyes wide as he had quite obviously seen the sight in front of him. A sight which had included a hysterical girl had thrown her trunk against a solid wall only to, unsurprisingly to him, be thrown back. "You belong in a mental hospital!"

Hermione watched dimly as the man walked away, shaking his head in disgust. The pall of shock that hovered over her shrouded her from the curious looks she was getting, sitting with her legs stretched in front of her with a firm look of dismay across her face. Fifteen feet away her trunk lay, still half open with robes hanging out and a _Witch Weekly_ magazine laying on top, moving pictures and all.

Three minutes later, Hermione, her trunk, and a bathroom stall met with a privacy ward and a rather powerful cleaning spell. Well, the bathroom stall met the cleaning spell. That being done, the contents of the trunk were quickly expelled, for the second time today.

"Where is it… where is it? Ah!" The last item that had been haphazardly discarded over her shoulder shattered against the wall. "_Reparo, Accio Time Turner!_" she shouted in quick succession, grinning triumphantly as the device magically repaired itself. Suspiciously, she cast her eyes around to make sure there wasn't a single grain of sand left out of the turner, for that could have dastardly results in the calculations.

Satisfied with the results of her search, Hermione waved her hand in a lofty manner, and her trunk was neatly packed, shrunk, and stuck in her pocket.

"Hmm, a good twenty minutes should do the trick." It was five minutes after the train had left, so it would leave her fifteen to board the train. Peering over the top of the stall, Hermione quickly dissolved the privacy ward and set the time turner and let it spin as the world spun around her.

A nauseous feeling clawed up from Hermione's stomach to her throat. Why couldn't she see? Why was it all black? The spinning wasn't stopping, if anything, it was going faster and faster as she squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the sudden blinding flashes of light quickly followed by spells of darkness. Shivers ran up her body as the air became frigid cold and than sweat broke across her brow as it became unbearably hot before repeating the cycle over and over again over a dozen times.

Just as the dizziness was overwhelming her mind, she was slammed onto the ground, tottering on two wobbly feet before collapsing to the ground and becoming heavily sick in the toilet.

Why the hell had she reacted like that? She had gone back hours before, and the experience had been nothing like what a few minutes had been. It didn't make sense, but a quick glance at her watch told her she only had ten minutes to make it to the train on time.

Whether the missing five minutes had been used up when she was sent back remained a mystery to her, but one she shouldn't have overlooked.

Strolling casually to the barrier, a brown curly haired witch kept one hand in her pocket, fingering both her shrunken trunk and wand, and leaned casually against an apparently stone wall. To any muggles that were looking, the laid-back action was ironic for the next minute she disappeared. Luckily for her, no muggles were looking.

With the taste of almost failure still lingering on the tip of her tongue, Hermione didn't stop to talk to her friends. Although she didn't see Ron anywhere, she did see Harry's familiar mop of hair, he was standing with three boys, two blondes and a brunette. Maybe Dean, Seamus and Ernie Macmillion? She registered the red head beauty that Harry was arguing with as Ginny, while the other three howled with laughter.

'Hm,' Hermione thought. She hadn't remembered the four of them being that close in previous years, or Ginny and Harry being that volatile from the sound of the argument, but maybe her absence over the summer had changed a few things. Her descent onto the train went unnoticed and she resolved to catch up with Harry and Ron later as she settled into a compartment for the meanwhile.

If she had bothered to look closer, she would have realized it wasn't Dean, Seamus, and Ernie that 'Harry' was talking to. She also would have immediately seen the hazel eyes replacing the usual emerald green of her best friends eyes, but she would have spotted that shade of color in the red heads eyes instead of Ginny's usual chocolate brown. Instead she leaned back falling asleep quickly as twenty years in the future a desparate Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley searched for the third member of the Golden Trio. And outside of where the privacy ward had been set, twenty years in the future, a missing grain of time turner sand lay innocent of all the trouble that would come.

A/N: Hi! Abrista here, hope if you're reading this you're enjoying it, and any feedback would be great, good or bad! This is my first fanfiction for a while, and I dont know how the beginning came off because it felt a little rushed, but I have good plans for future chapters, I promise. And lots of twists and turns, and forgive me in advance if anyone is a little out of character. But please read and review!

-Abrista


	2. The Rowdy Bunch

_The Rowdy Bunch_

The air seemed to drag her down, slowing her frantic running about as she darted in and out of each compartment of the train. Every single one was empty, and had been since she started her search for her friends.

"HARRY? RON?" she yelled, tears pouring down her feet as she stumbled forward blindly. The train was moving faster and faster, the countryside racing by in a green blur. Usually she would try to find something to focus on until it whipped by, disappearing forever from sight, her own game to pass the time. Not today.

She came to the end of the train and fell to the ground in a shivering heap. "No, no," she wept. "Please don't leave me, please. I swear, I've changed so much from last year. Pl-please don't leave me, give me a chance. I need a chance. A chance to show you-"

Hermione's swimming eyes snapped open as a bang rocketed the compartment. Raucous laughter rang out and she saw a sandy haired boy who looked her age covered in soot with a sheepish look on his face. Two raven haired wizards were flat on their back overcome with hilarity as the dirtied boy bemoaned his fate. A fourth wizard had a gaunt expression on his face, but he laughed along nervously in the background, although not as joyfully.

"Oh, hullo!" the fourth one said brightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled widely. "Sorry for them lot, never learnt how to keep it quiet when a fair lady be sleeping," he whispered in a playful tone.

Hermione smiled bemusedly back at him, looking at the three boys who had started up another game of exploding snap, but with a set of rules she had never heard of before. Listening in on their conversation, it sounded as if they were making them up as they went and were cause of great humor.

"Now, now, Peter, don't be poisoning said fair lady's cute ears against us," one of the black haired wizards interjected, having heard the whisper.

One hand jumped out to her ears, tracing them with a small hand. Hermione held her unoccupied right hand out to Peter. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said.

"Peter," he replied, grasping her hand with his pudgy, slightly sweaty one. "Peter Pettigrew."

Hermione wrenched her hand back, surprise glazing her eyes as well as a look of horror. Peter Pettigrew? No, that wasn't possible. That dirty filthy traitor wouldn't dare touch her, in fact, he wouldn't even be able to touch her. Because he wouldn't be on the train to Hogwarts, or looking like he was her age. Or looking hurt for her sudden action and before she could stop herself, Hermione felt pity for the pain she had caused.

While trying to reassure Pettigrew with a blank smile, Hermione calmly pinched the skin on her arm together. A yelp of pain drew the attention of the rest of the compartment and Hermione glared at the reddening spot angrily. This is when she was supposed to wake up!

"Whats wrong?" the sandy haired boy asked, coming to sit next to Pettigrew while wiping the soot off his face. Pettigrew shrugged in response.

"Pro-professor Lupin?" Hermione asked softly. When the boys eyes widened in surprise, Hermione slumped against the wall in a faint.

"_Enervate!_"

Hermione groaned in response to the spell, her hands coming up to support her heavy head as a pounding headache made itself known. Years of adventures told her to observe her surroundings and expect the worst.

The worst seemed to be four boys peering curiously at her, one pocketing his wand, and an owl tapping at the window.

"Were you attacked by nargles?"

Hermione blinked. The boy didn't look like he was related to Loony Luna Lovegood, but instead looked like… "Sirius?" she asked incredulously.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Someone get the owl," a curiously familiar version of Harry said irritably as Sirius sat back with an amused expression.

"Told you my reputation was bigger than yours," he drawled in a confident tone to the other raven headed boy.

Hermione tuned out James, for that's who the Harry replicate with hazel eyes was, and Sirius; they had begun to bicker in a good natured way. Instead, her fingers quickly opened the scroll that Pettigrew had gotten from the owl.

"Actually," Lupin was saying loudly, I'll have you appreciate she acknowledged MY notorious self foremost, so it appears to be that my reputation seems to be the most prevalent out of all."

Sirius snorted and shot him a look. "Yes, but you use too many big words for it to count."

"My reputation is biggest," Remus translated with a sigh.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

Hermione read as the boys began to bicker, Pettigrew taking sides and adding nonsense to the conversation.

_I hope you enjoyed your arrival to Kings Cross. I'm told that your 'old,' or should I say future, school has the same curriculum as Hogwarts has in 1977. As the mouth has a way of running off by accident, I understand if you tell a few people that your knowledge is attributed to your 'visions.' I wont hold you up any longer, but please travel to school by carriage and proceed to the High Table. You will be sorted right after the first years, best of luck for that. After dinner, please do me the honor of adjoining to my office. Until then,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore  
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

'That man is brilliant,' Hermione thought. "And never misses a thing."

"Who's that?" Sirius asked, bringing Hermione from her reverie.

Hermione winced, she hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Oh, er, Headmaster Dumbledore."

James nodded enthusiastically. Jumping to his feet, he teetered on the tips of his toes, clapping his hands together nervously and a grin stretched impossibly far across his face. "I do believe introductions are in order," he beckoned Sirius to join him and the two boys mirrored each other in grins.

"Here is one James Phillip Potter-"

"And Sirius Orion Black."

A crack later, three feet tall polka doted hats with a splash of colors appeared and were promptly swept off their heads as the two wizards bowed with unison. Still half bent, the two mischievous angled up their heads and shot goofy smiles at Hermione. It was charming, really and Hermione giggled.

A giggle that would turn into a full blown laugh as Remus and Pettigrew stealthily snuck behind the two and kicked them to the floor.

"We," Remus began imperiously, mocking the boys who were now sputtering as they lay indignantly sprawled on the floor at Remus' and Peter's feet.

"Are the better half of these two," Peter continued.

"I am, Sir Remus Lupin at your service," Remus said bowing to a ridiculous low.

"And Lady Petunia Pettigrew!" Peter squeaked, his voice having risen up an octave. A flash of light later had Hermione gasping with laughter, tears rolling down her eyes.

James and Sirius quickly hid their wands and darted out of the compartment as Peter and Remus, now dressed in high heels and very tight dresses that would have been scandalous on a girl, chased them.

No sooner had the door closed then it was opened again and the fiery red head stood in the doorway. "I see you've met our resident troublemakers," she said to Hermione with a grin on her face.

Hermione nodded, grinning, and wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger."

"I'm Lily Evans," the girl said, sitting down. "They'll be back in a few minutes, its happened before I'm sorry to say. Except last time was rather worse." Lily had a rather conniving smirk on her face and Hermione could only gasp as she stared at the green-eyed girl who would grow up to die for her baby boy.

"Er, what happened last time?" Hermione said after a pregnant pause.

Lily's smirk deepened. "Well, last time, _someone_ else charmed them. All four of them," she clarified. "_Whoever_ that someone was, did a slightly better job. I recall the Marauders complaining for weeks about back aches and wondering how us women deal with having breasts all the time. The outfits were a bit more, filled out, you could say."

Hermione had no doubt at all who had pranked the infamous Marauders and could only stare at shock at the slight figured girl in front of her. "Y-you?" she asked in confirmation. A nod was received.

"So, tell me about yourself," Lily commanded, stretching her bare legs down the bench, she was wearing an almost knee length black skirt and an emerald green tang top with a lighter green cardigan over that. "You obviously knew who the Marauders were before they introduced themselves in that formal way of theirs," there was a sneer on Lily's face for a second, "and you already knew they were called the Marauders."

Hermione stammered, one fist clutched the letter where Dumbledore had _provided_ her with an acceptable lie. To attribute her knowledge to visions, but could she lie to her best friends parents? Apparently she could.

"Oh you must have just missed part of the conversation," she said flippantly. She would just lie in her own way. Lily crossed her eyes suspiciously, but before she could refute this claim the compartment door slid open again to reveal a very much endowed, shoulder lengthened hair, dress and high heel wearing James entered.

"Lily! Darling, a lily by any other name would smell as sweet," he cooed, fluttering his eyelashes. Hermione wondered briefly why a pureblood wizard knew Shakespeare, but then that thought was quickly driven from her mind.

"Are you wearing make up?" she asked incredulously.

James looked scandalized as loud laughter came from behind. A very normal looking Remus and Peter came in, supporting each other as a sullen Sirius Black came after them sporting a matching feminine style as James.

"Good job, boys," Lily said, closing the compartment behind her as she strode out.

"Lily, wait!" James hollered down, sprinting after her until he tripped and fell over himself.

Hermione's compartment emptied itself, Hermione included as Sirius dragged her out, and they watched the spectacle in front of them. It seemed that they weren't the only ones, as all along the train people were poking out their heads and then gleefully calling their friends to watch.

"James, sweetheart," Lily simpered, sweetness absurdly coloring her tone; she bent down to where a red faced James lay, trying to regain his breath. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I like men, not boys. And even though you are usually the latter, you seem to be neither right now and unfortunately for you I'm not into girls."

As Lily disappeared into the crowd, the humiliating spell was lifted off the two afflicted boys and a fan club of girls tried consoling him as James lethargically made his way to his safe haven.

Sirius was grumbling when everyone filed back into the compartment and James shot him a dirty glare.

"Sorry mate, but come on, I didn't even get to feel myself up this time," Sirius said without taking his eyes off James. "And come on, us two make hot girls."

James broke out into a grin, his spirits lifted, and in no time the boys were back to bantering as Hermione and Remus started debating about Ancient Runes and Peter Pettigrew looked dolefully out the window. In the reflection he watched the oblivious brunette girl, the most stunning girl he had ever seen. But from the second she had heard his name, she had given him the cold shoulder. He sighed, there was no hope, not that there ever was for him.

**A/N: **Yay! I got my first reviews, thank you laplam and AbsinthePierson! And to Airyn Amora, daydreaming readhead, itcouldbeyou, twinfeathers, and wolfie 22 for adding me to your alert list

Anyways. I thought I'd get this little chapter out now, and the next one is already started because it was connected to this one before I realized how long it was getting. But I just thought I'd get the introductions out of the way and I tried to throw in a little humor.

Please read and review and tell me if I'm doing anything right... or wrong, heh or anything. And while your reviewing hint hint , do you think I should keep it from Hermione's point of view or switch it to one of the Marauders every once in a while?


	3. The Game

**A/N: **Woo, this is a long chapter. Nothing too important really happens, just sets up a few future things.

Sorry for not posting sooner, I almost had the chapter done and then yesterday I **had** to go see the new Batman movie, and it was awesome. Since then I've been in a 'Heath Ledger frantic state', its a disease where I come from, and had to watch A Dark Knight and my absolute favorite, 10 things I hate about you.

Anyway, thanks to AbsinthePierson, laplam, and daydreaming readhead for reviewing, you guys are amazing and are the reason I'm up at 2 in the morning finishing this up. Also, for everyone whose already put me on their alert list and the new ones, 101Katrina, CancerChic, WhiteTiger1992, dat panda bandit, and mandigrrl. And musicandbooksequallove, and Silver Ice Bullet for adding my story to their favorites. Thanks so much everyone!

I just want to clear something up before pressing the save button, since I probably should have mentioned this earlier. This is a seventh year fic, but HBP never happened , or DH obviously as this is taking its place. I think it just would be easier for Hermione if she could depend on Dumbledore being alive in the future. Also, this is intended to be a HGSB fic eventually, so no Peter Hermione action, sorry if that disappoints anyone /. But there should be plenty of interactions, just not too much in this chapter. (Musicandbookssequllove-she might be nice to him, but he'll suffer, don't worry manical grin) And maybe another run of Sirius as a female later...that was fun.

Anyway, enough chatter, and enjoy!

_The Game_

After Hermione and Remus finished debating, Hermione was swamped by a whirlwind of questions from the other three Marauders, although Pettigrew was considerably quieter. James and Sirius, however, were having a ball trying to find out every little detail about her, most of which Hermione made up on the spot. She now lived in an orphanage, without any clue as to who her parents were or if she was in fact muggle born because the orphanage had given her the name. Which covered any background history, or lack thereof. Well, actually she did tell them that her mother had left her the name Aphrodite but the orphanage had changed it because they didn't like the whole Greek Goddess theme. Shakespeare, on the other hand, was fair play.

Her birthday became December 25th, or at least that's the day she had been found at the orphanage. She had never gone to school before either, because she didn't think she could come up with Professors names or an accurate description of the school, but instead was home schooled following the Hogwarts curriculum. A witch had worked at the orphanage and taught Hermione all she knew before finally releasing her to go to Hogwarts.

Sirius and James thought it was all _wicked cool_, and it was only when Remus expressed his condolences over her lack of family that they added theirs. 'So not the most sympathetic of fellows,' Hermione thought.

"Why'd you call me Professor?" Remus asked for the third time when it seemed Sirius and James had run out of questions for the time being.

Hermione panicked. "You look like one," she shot back.

A gleeful shout was heard, and Sirius reached forward to clap her on the back. "You've got the right picture in mind, our lil Remy here is the biggest bookworm you'll ever meet."

Hermione winced, "Well, I like books too…" she said softly.

A red faced Remus continued to persecute her though. "You called me Professor _Lupin_, though-"

"Truth or dare?" Sirius interrupted, having tired of questions and answers.

Hermione stared. She had thought that was a muggle game. But since the alternative was being questioned some more by Remus, she was quick to play.

"Dare!" she said, not up for any more details about her life.

"Wait, wait," James said, holding his hands up in protest. "We have to set up the rules."

There were rules?

"Alright, everybody, wands in!" Sirius made a show out of pulling his wand out and placed the tip on the floor.

James was quick to add his and Remus did too after a moment. It was just Pettigrew and Hermione left. Pettigrew hesitated, but joined in when the others started squawking like chickens and making references to him being a let down as a Gryffindor. Hermione on the other hand hadn't even drawn her wand.

"Come on, Mione…" James drawled out in the same tone Harry often used and with the same nickname that only Harry had ever called her. Like father like son. She winced. "You want to be a Gryffindor or no?"

Did she? "Of course, only the best," she added her wand tip to the circle.

"Okay, Truth or Dare, wizard style. We, Marauders five, do solemnly swear to abide by these rules. One: to never lie when we should be telling a truth or pay the consequences. Two: to never back down from a dare which wouldn't result in death or pay the consequences. Three: for the asker, no question or dare may be repeated to one person."

James took over from Sirius. "As leader of the Marauders-"

"HEY!" Sirius interjected. There was no passion in his voice though, and Hermione had a feeling that the disagreement was more for show then out of caring. Besides, Potters in general seemed to always take the role of leader.

"Ahem, as I was saying. As leader of the Marauders, I say that the consequences are as follows; first offence: appearance; second offence: Slytherin; third offence: Great Hall. I do so solemnly swear by these terms."

Each of the Marauders swore until it was Hermione's turn, and she couldn't tell if she was touched that she was included in the Marauders, or horrified of the vague terms. That could mean anything.

"Er, what exactly is meant by appearance, Slytherin, and Great Hall?"

Sirius smirked at her. "I'd suggest not breaking the rules more then once… and if you do you'll find out as you go. Scared?"

Hermione added her wand, her eyes never leaving Sirius'. Surprise flickered across his eyes before his smirk increased.

"I do so solemnly swear by these terms," she intoned softly, and as she said this, a swirl of magic came from each of their wands and wrapped around each of them.

"Cool, I call first," Sirius said, breaking the tranquility and keeping his position on the floor. The rest of the group paused their movements before deciding to settle on the floor as well. "Hermione, truth or dare?"

Truth? They could ask her anything and she would have to answer or they would _know_ that she was cheating. Or dare… it was Sirius Black, who knew what went through his mind. It would probably involve kissing those luscious perfect lips that were curved –

"Truth!" Hermione blurted out before she could change her mind. When she had said dare the first time Sirius had asked, before James insisted on rules, his eyes had taken on a fervid glint had come into his eyes. It had scared her to be honest.

It looked as if her assumptions were correct, for Sirius pouted mightily while James howled with laughter. Remus rolled his eyes and Pettigrew shuddered in relief before jumping up to buy snacks from the cart lady who had just passed by. His face was so white that he looked as if he would faint in a moment.

"Alright…" Sirius paused and Hermione had a feeling he was trying to turn this in his favor. "Am I not the most attractive person you've ever met?"

Hermione smirked. "Yes," she said, letting Sirius smile in victory for a moment. "Yes, its true that you are not the most attractive person I've ever met." Sirius spluttered as James shrieked with laughter until finally Sirius acquiesced and laughed it off too, his ego a bit deflated. She had met Fleur after all, and Sirius hadn't asked if he was the most attractive male…

"James, truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

What to do? Hermione didn't want to embarrass him any farther after what had already happened, but nor was she going to let him get off easy.

"Dare you to go apologize to Lily," she finally gave in, hoping she could help solve the rift between James and Lily.

A rather gloomy look came over James' face, and he sat there for a moment motionless.

"Do it," Sirius goaded. "And on your way back, pick up a chick, you know you'll need it after seeing her."

A dirty look, and a whack on Sirius' head later courtesy of Remus, and James was out of the compartment.

"Well this could take a while," Sirius said with a smile, lounging back and grabbing one of Pettigrew's treats. Said boy twitched convulsively but pretended not to notice his pilfered chocolate frog.

Remus turned back to Hermione who was contemplating whether she should take a chocolate frog herself. "Here have one," he said, grabbing a treat and tossing it to her. "And back to my question…"

How Hermione got out of talking to Remus was a mystery even to her, but she vaguely remembered having been opening the package as Remus asked. Her absence of attention gave the frog an oppertunity to jump, and Hermione went chasing after it, eager for the chance of getting away from Remus. Sirius, laughing as Hermione jumped around the compartment and narrowly missed landing on the others several times, opened the door as the frog drew near. With a screech, Hermione dived after the frog as it made a run for it and went rolling down the train in desperate pursuit.

Sirius threw an odd look at Remus. "Does she realize we have a whole bunch more right here?"

Remus in return shrugged. "Beats me, don't you notice how she's been avoiding that one question like crazy." At the confused looks he was getting in response, Remus continued, "Well, first off she freaked out when she heard Peter's name…. and then she called me Professor Lupin. Sure, maybe I do look like a Professor-" James walked back into the compartment with a slightly red cheek and a grin on his face. "But that still doesn't explain how she knew my na…"

As soon as James had arrived, the little attention Sirius had been paying attention was fully diverted. "James! James, James, James, my _man_! How did it go?" he asked his friend. Truthfully, he was curious as hell what was up with the new girl, but not enough to let it occupy his mind when there were better things to think about. Like how perfect she looked in every way.

"Well, it started off well. I went in, right, and I said, 'Hey Lils, can I talk to you?' and she said, 'Absolutely not,' but my Potter charm won out in the end after she slapped me for calling her Lils, but that's nothing. So then we went outside the compartment, and I apologized and she was really surprised and then her eyes narrowed and she asked what for. I just died at that point and she slapped me again. Where's Mione?"

"James! You should have said you were sorry for making her angry, or something… _anything,_" Remus said at the same time as Peter said, "She went running down the hall after one of _my_ chocolate frogs, not that she asked for it in the first place, serves her right…"

"Alright! Frogs!" James said, scooping up a handful and rocking back on his toes. Just as he opened the first one, the compartment door slid open and a slightly sweaty Hermione came in with a look of disappointment on her face. "Stupid, stupid, stupid Slytherin's," she was mumbling.

"Blow up your frog?"

Hermione plopped down next to Sirius and nodded glumly.

"Alright, Remy, truth or dare?" James asked while passing a fresh chocolate frog to Mione who took it with a great deal of caution.

Remus took his time answering, wondering which would be less painful. For him, probably a dare, but from James, that could be dangerous. "Truth."

"Is it true you have pink heart boxers?" James asked quickly, a triumphant grin on his face.

Remus turned pink and crossed his hands over his midsection with horror. "N-no... er wait, yes! I do, I do I have them." But he had tempted the fates and then with an audible pop, his hair turned a bright green with silver stripes color and his robes a lurid pink with hearts on them. He groaned in horror as a flash went off.

"Hermione, truth or dare?" he asked quickly before he could be ridiculed.

"How long does that stay on for?"

"Till the end of the feast!" James managed to get out through his laughter.

Oh damn. Hermione winced, she would have to answer Remus' question and she couldn't say she had visions because that was a lie, or she would have to do something probably humiliating. There was no way she could go to her first welcoming feast in this time dressed like that!

"Truth or dare?" Remus ground out.

"Dare."

"Fine, I dare you to answer my question."

Hermione glared at him, could he do that?

"Aw, Moonsie, that's a boring one. Alright, ask your question."

"How did you know who we were before we introduced ourselves?" Moony finally asked, a triumphant smile on his face. And he called himself a Gryffindor, more like a Slytherin.

How could she get around this? Say because James was her best friends dad? Sirius was his godfather but dead anyway, and Remus didn't look like her teacher, but would be so while Pettigrew was a traitor responsible for their deaths.

"So what color do you think my hair will be?" she asked dully, and just like that her lovely chocolate hair was turned fire engine red, and her muggle clothing a bumble bee yellow. A flash went off and then Sirius pushed her next to Remus so he could take another picture. The two were scowling, but glanced at each other and burst out laughing, it was all captured in another moving picture.

"So, Sirius, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he scoffed.

"Dare you to go profess your undying love to Lucius Malfoy!" Hermione had seen the father of his least favorite classmate when chasing the chocolate frog earlier.

"Gladly," he smirked, prancing out of the compartment. James grabbed her hand with Remus and Peter following and they all made their way to the end of the train where the seventh year Slytherin's sat.

When they got there, Sirius black was not only professing his love, but singing an off-key, no rhythm song.

"_Your hair is a pale as flax,  
I use it to get to my max,  
I wish we were friends dear,  
But don't pretend to think I care  
For I would-"_

"Shut up!" the blond haired boy flustered, an unnatural red flushing his cheeks as he drew his wand on Sirius Black. "_Cru-_"

"_Expelliarmus!_" Five people shouted. Lucius wand went flying in one direction and him in the other.

Before the others could retaliate, the Marauders plus one went running down the hall. Sirius was skipping.

"You are so naughty, naughty, naughty, naughty," Sirius scolded Hermione, draping one arm across her shoulders as they dived back into their compartments. "I love it. Pee Wee, truth or dare?"

Peter was used to going last, he always chose truth anyways and it was always a boring one. "Truth," he said proudly.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius leaned back against Hermione and thought for a moment. "Do you get wet dreams from one of us?" he asked casually, earning himself a smack over the head from Hermione.

"No!" he squeaked, a moment later his hair turned orange and his robes Slytherin green. "Eeks!" he whimpered as the rest of the compartment laughed loudly except for Hermione. She sent him a quiet apology with her eyes which he either ignored or didn't see.

"S-Sirius-"

"You get wet dreams from Sirius?" Remus asked.

"No! I'm asking him truth or dare!"

"Dare, of course!"

"Dare you to kiss James!"

An evil glint was in Sirius' eyes as he shot a disgusted look at Peter before slowly unraveling his arm from around Hermione. With a sigh, he looked up before making eye contact with a nervous James.

"Argh!" James squealed as Sirius launched himself forward, tumbling onto his best friends lap.

"Pucker up, Jamsie boy," he crowed, before planting a big sloppy wet one right onto James lips with a resounding _slurp!_

James pushed the boy off him, spluttering like an idiot while rapidly wiping off his hand. "Aw and I brushed my teeth this morning, and now they're all contaminated with dog drool."

The compartment went silent. Hermione, of course, knew how big of a slip up James had just made, since they didn't know she knew about their animagi abilities. "You kiss dogs?" she asked bluntly, covering up for James.

"No! James is just…" what James was never came out as Sirius scowled some more and the other laughed at his fate. "Truth or dare, Peter!"

"Truth," Peter said with a surprised look. He was asked again so soon?

"Remember the stakes, would ya? Okay, is it true you miss your mum whenever you leave her?"

Peter jumped up, and dashed out of the compartment.

"This I so want a memory of," Sirius raced after him with a camera.

"What's going on?"

"The second part of breaking the rules…. Slytherin. Peter has to go… kiss one." Remus managed to get out as James sprinted out of the compartment. "Not going to watch?"

"Hermione! Oh gross, Peter just kissed Severus! Its all James' fault, I just know it," Lily entered the compartment.

"Severus, really?" Remus went to leave the compartment but James and Sirius were walking in supporting a limp Peter between them.

"Hexed him, think he's out of the game," James grunted. Noticing Lily, he immediately tried to straighten up before she told him to not even bother and left the compartment while saying bye to a dazed Hermione.

Peter was deposited on the bench and James and Sirius fell onto the ground, winded. Sirius was triumphantly waving around his camera though. "This is going to be a good roll of film!"

"Okay, my turn," Remus said, taking over Peter's turn. "Sirius, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Sirius said predictably. He ended up blonde hair and violet robes with magenta stripes because he wouldn't kiss Hermione. It wasn't fair to her, he claimed, but became vaguely interested in his fingernails when James started to ask about Sirius having kissed _him_.

"Hermione, truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth," she whispered, her eyes bright with fear.

Sirius had a feeling she would choose truth, and didn't want the rest to hear his question, which they protested to mightily. Leaning in to whisper in her ear, "Would you have minded… if I had kissed you?"

_Sirius. The one who was dead. Her best friends godfather and hands down the most gorgeous man she had ever met. _Warm breath was tickling her skin, sending shivers down her spine. His grey eyes were piercing into her chocolate ones, pleading with her to say, 'No, I wouldn't have minded.' Before even realizing what she was saying, Hermione stumbled out those exact words. She was scared though, she didn't want to kiss him, she couldn't… not yet.

His rough hand found hers and he skillfully interlocked their fingers, grinning at her and the rest of the scowling compartment.

"Ja-" Hermione began weakly before clearing her throat. "James, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he grumbled, still giving his best friend a suspicious look.

"Did you like it when Sirius kissed you?" she asked with a playful undertone.

"Nope, sorry Siri. Rems, you know the question now what's the answer?"

"That I'm done with this game, and I'm going to go change into my Hogwarts robes." There was a sharp tone to Remus' words, he was angry for some reason but the others were oblivious as to why.

There was an awkward silence as it was just the two boys and Hermione left, well Pettigrew was still there but in a deep sleep now, snoring loudly. So it wasn't silence exactly, but still awkward.

Of course, that didn't stop the game from continuing. Two kisses of unhappy and unfortunate Slytherin's later and the game was paused. Hermione was still sporting her red hair, although it had developed purple polkadots from James' hex, with pride. It was the other two who had needed a temporary break. As neither seemed willing to divulge their deepest secret, an unfair question in their minds, they were both thoroughly cleansing their mouths out with rapid cleaning spells.

"Ergh," James moaned, poking his tongue apprehensively. The charm enforcing the rules of the game had led him to the compartment of Bellatrix Black and after his trickery, she had hexed his tongue to three times the size. It had then attacked him.

At least Sirius had only kissed Lucius, who was too stunned to reply in action. The two boys had seemed alright when they first returned, and James' tongue was subdued and returned to normal, but then Hermione rather flippantly theorized if Lucius hadn't reacted because he had enjoyed the kiss and then the rampage began. Fifteen minutes later, and with Remus having rejoined them and cajoled Pettigrew into waking, the game continued.

"Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she replied with a sigh.

Sirius drew back in contemplative silence before turning to James and conversing in low tones. "I dare you to go to Lily and claim James as your own."

Kiss a Slytherin or shove a wedge between her best friends parents…

"Which do ya think she's gonna do?" Pettigrew asked as Hermione gracefully stood and left the compartment.

"I dunno, but either way I want to be there!" James pulled down Sirius before the eager boy could follow and shot him a nasty look. "What?" he asked innocently.

Growling, James replied, "What? Are you trying to ruin my chances even more so? I don't want Lily to think that some new girl is with me. And I don't want to give her a reason to –"

"I hate you, Sirius," Hermione said dully, cutting off James as she threw herself to the floor. The boys exchanged glances, but kept from asking the results of the dare. Which had she done? She wasn't cleaning her mouth like they had to. "Truth or dare?" her sharp eyes were focused on Sirius. She had to get him, one last question and the stupid game would be over. There was no way she was quitting. She slapped his hand away when he went to interlace his fingers again.

"Dare," he whispered, subconsciously rubbing the back of his neck with nerves. She seemed pretty angry.

"I dare you to go to Lily and tell her that what I just told her wasn't true but she was the target of a prank, _your _prank. She looked pretty angry when I left her…"

Sirius looked like he was about to be violently ill, his eyes were wide with fear and his mouth kept shooting open before snapping closed. Dragging himself up, the boy crawled out of the compartment before casting one last doleful look at the group. "Goodbye, Peter, dream sweet dreams of me. And Remus, use your library time wisely and research as many pranks as you can. James, it was nice knowing you, name your son after me, would you? And teach him our ways. Er, y-you're beautiful, Hermione," he added as an afterthought, flashing the disgusted girl a grin before dashing away.

"I am not watching this," James said, covering his eyes with a horrified hand.

"Farewell!" Remus shouted after Sirius. "Bet the game finishes."

James stood up crossly before seating himself against the window. "We'll be there soon anyway… looking forward to Hogwarts?" he asked curiously, giving Hermione a hand up from the floor as she was the only one left.

"Am I ever!" Hermione said excitedly, having remembered that it was, supposedly, her first year there. The excitement wasn't forced, though, for she _was_ eager to return to a place she called home. _Just too bad I'll be here for the last time without my best friends._

"Here, we better change into our robes, coming Peter?"

Pettigrew cast a nervous look at Hermione before shaking his head and murmuring a quiet, "I'll wait until you get back, can't leave Remus alone, no, can't do that…"

The two were quiet as they walked down the train to the nearest bathrooms. He had one arm casually draped over her shoulder and the other was playing with one of her free hands. She in return kept her head down and her steps large to match his even gait.

At their destination, the two split up into their gender designated rooms and Hermione was left alone for the first time since awakening to a compartment full of Marauders. And boy was the quiet a nice change.

It was just so overwhelming, thrown into the past, associating with two dead boys, a dead girl, a traitor, and her future Professor. And how the hell was she supposed to get back, well Dumbledore must have a way she decided. But how long would it be before she returned to Harry, and Ron of course. Surely they would have noticed her absence by now, what if they were worrying over her? They had to be!

And she was talking to the _Marauders_, what if she let something slip. Sure, she had the excuse of having had premonitions and visions, but what if she let something _important_ slip. She couldn't trust herself! And what if she did something wrong and affected the future, what if she became the reason James and Lily never got together... Stupid Sirius making her do that stupid dare all because the thought of kissing Professor Snape had clouded her judgement, unwillingly she shivered in disgust.

_At least Pettigrew wouldn't be a traitor then,_ she thought glumly as the prospect of going to a future where Harry didn't exist entered her mind. _And maybe he wont be, but James and Lily can still be together! I _can_ change the future, but in a positive light. I wont let him betray them, I'll change who he is. It can work!_

Someone was knocking at the door and Hermione quickly affirmed that she would be out in a minute. The robes she had pulled from her trunk were quick to slip into. The insignia of Gryffindor house took a minute to take off, but that was due to the emotional value rather then the difficulty of removing the embroidery with a quick spell. Even if her hair was now red with purple polka dots, at least her robes were plain black. The hexed clothing would be dealt with later and she quickly shrunk it and stuck it in her pocket.

James was waiting for her outside the bathroom as she slipped out, smoothing down her robes one last time as she did so. He seemed to be in a better mood, for he bowed ostentatiously and offered his arm in a very pompous voice. Giggling, Hermione accepted and let him sweep her down the train. Halfway there, they spotted a white-faced Sirius Black who was standing frozen outside a door.

"She just hexed Snivellus!" he exclaimed in a distraught voice.

James winced. "But, er, she never hexes him!"

"I know, mate, I know."

With a grin, James offhandedly said, "Guess that means she likes me," before sweeping away with Sirius trailing behind the duo. "Look, we're slowing down! You'll be at Hogwarts before you can say, 'Sirius is about to make a fool out of himself in front of the whole school.'"

"Good," Hermione snapped back, throwing the boy an angry look. She would never forgive him for hurting Lily that way.

**A/N:** Hogwarts next chapter! And a new point of view for the next chapter, Sirius' I think would be most fun.


	4. The Sorting

_The Sorting_

Sirius wasn't upset enough to be oblivious to Hermione's hand tucked in the crook of Prongs' arm, or the light, bantering that the two were exchanging with wide smiles on their faces. She honestly shouldn't even be mad at him, he fumed angrily. It _had _been her choice, in the end, to go through with the dare. and besides, the way she was acting _did _make it seem like the two were involved. But hadn't _he _beenthe one holding her hand just a minute ago?

She was more then just a pretty face, a beautiful face even. There was a mysterious air about her, but it only added to her general image. It was deeper then that, she had a personality. And a sense of fun, that was important; she could keep up with the Marauders and be daring enough to play their games while still tricking them into losing. And boy had Sirius lost. The end of the game hadn't been too smooth, fun had turned into a vicious circle which had left Hermione furious at him

Still, he knew she wouldn't be able to stay mad at him for very long. Not many girls could.

Halfway to the front of the train, Sirius caught a pretty face goggling at him through the door window. With a quick glance to affirm that Hermione was still wrapped up in Prongs, Sirius slipped through the door with a graceful ease. He was, after all, a playboy by trade.

And so it was with a thin, blond Ravenclaw on his arm that he met up with his fellow Marauders plus Hermione and a sour faced Lily Evans. The sour face due to partially the claustrophobic feeling that seven people squeezed in one carriage caused, and partially because she was sitting between Prongs and Hermione. The former of which gave Sirius a thumbs up on his choice of girls, and the latter a disgusted look before a startled one; the startled look was after she caught a glimpse of who the girl was.

Rachel, his blond haired prefect beauty, instantly struck up a conversation with Evans, the Head Girl. Prongsie, who for some deranged decision been made Head Boy, disregarded the conversation by speaking over Evans' head to Hermione. The two chatted with an ease usually associated with years of friendship, not a few hours. Neither seemed to show the least bit of discomfort at the tight quarters, or the possibly awkward situation caused by Lily. Nor did either attempt talking to her.

Moony and Wormtail were chattering in low whispers, occasionally shooting dark eyed glances at Hermione, who had angled her body away from Moony and thus, was oblivious. Sirius decided not to join in on their conversation, as he had no dreams on conspiracy. And so instead nuzzled his head into Rachel's neck persistently until she began to giggle and broke off her conversation with Evans.

Luckily, before any further damage could be done, the carriage grinded to a stop and the door sprung open. Evans sprang for the door, nearly tumbling out before just managing to get her feet under her in time. Wormtail, despite being farthest from the door, was on her heels with Moony following close after. They had both been acting rather strangely as of late.

Prongs and Sirius had an agreement for a while now, a possible hook up would equal who was last to leave the carriage. And as flirty as Prongs was, the rule had been made for Sirius. The other had been too busy chasing Evans to find a casual carriage hook up.

The blonde, however, had other plans, and she stepped down from the carriage before pressing a kiss to Sirius' cheek and then scampering off to rejoin her friends. Not before whispering her desire for another meeting though. He hated when they did that, he had picked her for now afterall, not for later. What if she was ugly by the time later rolled around?

Hermione accidentally trod on his left foot when she left, quiet fiercely too, for something accidental. Then it was just James and Sirius, Prongs and Padfoot. Just how it should be on the last ride to Hogwarts. Just as how it had been on the first ride too, when Bellatrix had been trying to kiss Sirius and he had stumbled into the first carriage he found trying to hide from her. It was a coincidence that had led to a long friendship.

"Well, I guess this is it, mate," James whispered in an oddly quiet voice.

Sirius shot him a grim smile, he couldn't make light of his gloomy mood and his foot hurt too damn much to care too much. "Guess so." He winced at a particularly sharp throb from his foot.

"You know, its going to be a long year if you plan on trying to make her jealous. My advice, apologize. Sure we just met her, but from what's she sad about Slytherin's, she really hates them, and yeah, we didn't know, but the dare wasn't a choice for her. She was feeling really guilty, mostly to Lily but for me too, but just the thought of Slytherin's… well you'll see after you apologize. I think she would have done anything to avoid a kiss and well, she blames you for putting her in that situation."

"When did you become so wise?" Sirius snarled, balling his long fingers into steamy fists.

Prongs just shook his head sadly before looking once more at the carriage and biding his adieu, he jumped down and slung one arm around Evans who looked ready to punch him. _Alright, so maybe I was messing around a little too much,_ Sirius thought, leaning against the carriage door.

Unwillingly, his stormy eyes trained on Hermione's figure, she was petting the thestrals with a solemn look on her face. He had been risen in a pureblood house, seeing death was as common as having breakfast. But who had she, the innocent girl that she was, seen die? Of course, she _had_ grown up in an orphanage.

Her beauty would forever remain untarnished, a different kind then Rachel's but more intense. Far more intense. Where as Rachel belonged on a beach on a tropical island, Hermione belonged everywhere. Her hair was an espresso brown, dark and rich in color and magnificently curly. It looked so silky, how he dared to run his fingers through that, and settled for running them through his own hair instead. She had prominent cheekbones, and a natural blush was splashed over them giving her a healthy glow. Her lips were small, but pink and smooth looking. Eyebrows were aristocratically styled, and the eyes underneath were almost almond shaped, they were exotic but yet fit in so well.

Tilting her head to the side, she whispered something into the thestral's ear before turning to stare right back at him with those magnificent chocolate eyes. A world of suffering was exposed to Sirius as he looked into her gaze, but she quickly schooled her features into a frown. Sirius gave a small little wave and she rolled her eyes before walking over to Remus. Evans was shooting her dark glares, but Hermione pretended not to notice with the ease of one who had done so many times before. He could almost hear her chanting, 'Ignore her, ignore her...'

"You coming?" she called to Sirius, a musical lilt to her voice.

The group started to walk as Sirius ran up to run interference between the two Heads, who were bickering as usual. Evans' eyes were suspiciously bright and her face was unnaturally flushed, but the boys pretended not to notice, crying girls weren't their thing.

"So, she seems…" Evans started but then trailed off, the pleasant adjective's dying on her tongue as she glared at the back of Hermione's head.

"Yeah, she's pretty cool. I'm glad she came to Hogwarts, I have a feeling this year will be much different then before. What do you think Sirius?"

Sirius nodded absentmindedly, his mouth slightly open and his eyes glazed over.

"Someone's got a crush," Evans snickered, smacking him over the back of his head.

"Hey, do not!" Sirius shot back, rubbing his head irritated. "Don't know what you see in this bird, mate, she's aggressive as hell and not very nice." He shot Prongs a look, who returned it with a quick smile before putting on a wide eyed expression as Evans turned to him. Sirius gave the two some privacy.

"Well, I've been doing damage control, love," Sirius wrapped one arm around Hermione and then grumbled when he was roughly pushed off. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

After a moment of hesitation, she acquiesced and let Sirius drag her off to the side. Although she missed both, Wormtail's look was much darker than Evans', although Wormtail's seemed to be directed more at Sirius than his, er… the, _the _girl.

"So, you seem a bit upset with me," he tried offhandedly.

Hermione laughed lightly. "A bit?" she asked incredulously.

"Its not the Lily thing is it, I mean, you didn't have to do it. That was the point of the game, to try to get the other players to have to kiss a Slytherin or whatever the next offence was."

Hermione just shook her head, shivering unconsciously. "You don't understand, the Slytherin's are the type of people I had nightmare's about when I was a kid, kissing one of them… I just couldn't let myself do that. But Lily, Lily… she is such a good person, and I've barely known her. But I had to hurt her, my chance of having a friend that was a girl, I've never had too many. I guess you could say I'm a tomboy, but I was hoping to change that this year and I ruined my best chance."

Respectfully, Sirius waited until she was finished ranting before calmly placing one hand on the side of her head and angling her face towards his. "I grew up with Slytherin's. When we played pranks on each other, it was to kill. Your nightmare, was my reality, so don't talk to me about not understanding. But I still did that because I've faced my fears. You're mad at me because I made you hurt Evans when I didn't _make_ you do anything? No, I think it's because you realize that you were too afraid to stand up to the big ugly bullies. Not too Gryffindor of you, eh? Would rather save yourself from a little kiss, even if it meant hurting someone else. Two other people, even if James isn't mad at you, he was still hurt."

"I-I don't think we should talk anymore," she whispered harshly, withdrawing her hand from his. A sudden chill replaced the warm feeling that had come when he had grasped it earlier. He clenched his fist in an attempt to return the feeling, but it was no good. He had gone too far no matter how true his words were and they both knew it. That didn't stop him from continuing though.

"That's not fair, and you know it, your punishing me for your own shortcomings!"

"Believe what you want, Black," she spat, spinning around and stalking off. "I dare you to try talking to me, just wait and see what happens."

By the time Sirius had caught up to his friends in the Great Hall, Hermione had gone to see Dumbledore, Moony and Wormtail were chatting softly, and Prongs and Evans were suspiciously quiet. Quiet and sitting next to each other and sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one was looking. It was endearing, really it was. For a romantic, maybe.

Prongs had wanted Sirius to drop that hint about him still liking Evans, although probably wihtout the insult; the two had an unspoken language. So as Sirius neared the table, angling to sit in between the two lovebirds, he feigned ignorance at James' incredulous look as he shoved his way in between the two. There would be hell to pay, later though.

"Pads," Prongs growled.

"So," Sirius drawled loudly. "Who thinks Hermione is a spy sent by Voldemort?"

"But she practically lived with muggles her whole life," Remus argued. Clearly the thought had hit his mind too.

"Which gives her a reason to hate them! The only thing that doesn't fit in is her lack of knowledge of her lineage, I don't think they'd let a Mudblood join their ranks-"

"A what?!" Evans screeched, her eyes narrowing on Wormtail.

"Relax," Sirius said, gently pushing a furious Evans down to the bench where she continued to seethe. Her cheek twitched and he knew that her teeth were clenched tightly and instinct told him that she was fingering her wand, longing to draw it.

"Peter, we do not use such terms, and in front of a lady? Have you no shame?" James scolded lightly, he grinned at Lily who looked more likely to cook Wormtail alive then be placated by Prongs' words.

_God, what is up with us this year, we're at each others throats at every minute. _Sirius looked around the Great Hall and noticed their group wasn't the only tense one. Most were sitting in a stony silence, their lack of words echoing more loudly then if they had been talking. Fear. They were all afraid, terrified. And there were so many people missing. It was sickening really, and the Slytherin table was as large as always, unfortunately. _We're gonna have to prank extra hard this year to lighten everyone up. Maybe my song will do the trick._

"You notice it too?" Prongs whispered. He nodded to the hall in general. "Too bad we didn't set up anything for toni-"

"James Potter, are you planning a prank already? And here I thought being Head Boy might change you, I was obviously wrong!"

"Lils, look around, these people need a prank or two."

"And we're ready to perform, at your service, even be so generous as to give them more then what they asked for," Sirius added mischeviously.

Before a response could be made, the sorting hat was brought in and the line of first years couldn't have been longer. It seemed that Gryffindor and Slytherin were getting most of the students, or at least those who were already part of the magical world. The war was affecting even eleven year-olds. Boy was the world messed up.

By the time his stomach was loudly grumbling, the last girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and an enthusiastic clapping erupted around the Great Hall, and half the male population picked up their fork and knives in eager anticipation.

"Congratulations to everyone who has been sorted, but please remember that your house does not define who you are, or who you associate with. An open mind is always the best policy, I feel." Dumbledore looked exhausted as he cast his eyes over the troubled students. He could feel the deep-rooted enmity between the two opposing tables. Even the first years shared this hatred, although to a lesser degree. Sirius could feel it too.

"The sorting is not quite done, yet," Dumbledore said, a smile appearing on his face. "It is my honor to introduce Miss Hermione Granger who will be transferring to Hogwarts for her seventh year and I hope you are all as accepting as I know you can be, no matter which house she is sorted into. Miss Granger, if you would step up to Professor McGonagall."

Hermione did so as fervent whispers ran across the hall. The boys were in awe, the girls seemed jealous. And Hermione took it all in with an air of indifference. The sorting hat was placed on her head and a hushed silence fell across the room.

Oh he would kill to be able to hear what was going on.

A full minute passed, and then another and another. There was complete silence from the Hat and from Hermione, whose face was scrunched up in pain. The Marauders exchanged worried looks.

What if she was in Slytherin? No, that would never happen. That house was so wrong for her, and besides Hermione hated it. The Hat would never put her in a house that she hated.

And then, finally, "GRYFFINDOR!"

A delighted _whoop _was let out from the witch and a loud cheer was released from the most boisterous house. The latest Gryffindor made her way over to the Marauders and seated herself in the space made between Peter and Remus.

"I made it!" she said excitedly, but there was worry in her eyes.

"Congratulations," Lily said coolly, a word which was echoed, but with far more sentient, all down the table.

"Thank you," Hermione said loudly, to include everyone, but her eyes were trained on Lily alone.

And such had the situation diverted their attention from Dumbledore's speech, and squeals of delight were heard throughout the hall as the food appeared. An echoing grumble of stomachs was heard, and the teenagers laughed off the situation as they dived into the food.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Remus was asking Hermione, who was nodding enthusiastically, her face stuffed with a mushroom dish.

For once, the Marauders were quiet throughout the meal. They were too busy placating their stomach, and in Prongs and Sirius' case, too tired of getting beat over the head when they tried talking with full mouths.

Partly through the meal, Hermione all of a sudden jumped up and gave Lily a look of desperate need. "Er, bathroom, can you show me?" A moment later the Marauders were left alone and no longer were table manners needed so conversation became abundant.

"So, I told Lily not to worry about Hermione," James said casually. The others barely responded.

"You know, it fits in that it took so long. The hat probably saw her evil intentions and wanted to put her into Slytherin and for the sake of spying, she argued herself into Gryffindor. I mean, we all know the hat can be fought," Sirius said. His comment was met with much more of a response.

Prongs was the only of the four who didn't agree that she was a spy, and was still in the middle of vehemently protesting when the girls returned. They seemed to have cleared the air significantly, and even joked with each other as they reclaimed their seats. Preparing for the worst, Sirius was pleasantly surprised when Lily didn't so much shoot him a dirty look, or subtly stab him in the leg with her knife, which is what he _had_ expected. Instead she looked completely at ease. They all did.

"So, you had a long talk with the hat," Sirius remarked casually when food had become a much less pressing demand. Not to say that he was sated, oh no, far from it.

"Yes, it narrowed out Slytherin and Hufflepuff immediately, but kept pushing for Ravenclaw. Even more so than last time, but in the end we agreed that Gryffindor held my strongest qualities."

"Last time?" Remus asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Hermione froze in the middle of buttering her roll, a frightened look on her face. She turned to look at Dumbledore in horror. But before they could pursue this slip up, Sirius tumbled back from the table.

"Pads, you okay?" Prongs asked, jumping up to help Sirius.

But it was no use, the final curse was taking its toll. Fighting each and every step, Sirius walked up to the teachers table and hoped onto it, sending a charming look in dear Minnie McGonagall's direction. And a bow for good manners.

"_Sonorus_," he muttered, pointing to his throat. "Ahem," he added, quite unnecessarily as the entire hall had already focused on him. The whispers died out.

Setting his two hands over his belly, Sirius took a deep breath and in a strong tenor voice belted out a quite lovely song to his dear Hermione.

_"_I want you to want me!" _Oh man, I'd give anything to know you wanted me._ "I need you to need me," he continued. "I'd love you to love me." _It's strange, I love her. I do, I'd do anything for her, yet I've known her for such a short time._

The hall rang with laughter as Sirius landed his foot in a bowl of steaming hot soup. Evidently he couldn't sing and dance at the same time. And not when he was staring straight at Hermione who was a pleasant shade of pink. "ARGH!" he shouted, grabbing at his foot and rolling off the table with a loud _thump_.

"Mr. Black, thank you for your fine performance, but if you'd return to your table, that would be greatly appreciated."

_Great man, Dumbledore,_ Sirius thought appreciatively as he jauntily strolled back to his table, whistling the Cheap Trick's song and bowing every so often to the loud applause.

"Are there seconds?" Sirius asked as he slid into his seat next to Evans. At some point of his absence, she had claimed his previous seat and was even leaning lightly against Prongs.

"That was great," Peter said, hooting with laughter as everyone else was quick to agree.

"Eh, just the game," Sirius replied, grabbing a piece of cornbread just as the meal was replaced with dessert. "Hm, I'll have to double up on my usual serving of dessert then," he grabbed the nearest treacle tart and dug his fork in as the cornbread was promptly discarded onto the ground.

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "Sirius Black, if you eat that entire tart you are going to be sick! Sirius, oh ew, gross."

The table laughed as Sirius resurfaced from his intentional face plant in the tart. His entire face was covered with the dessert, which he instantly offered to Lily to lick off.

"Stop hitting on my girl," Prongs said reproachfully, pushing forward Sirius' head so he was dunked into the treat again.

"Your girl?" Lily was asking lightly, but Sirius was too busy posing for a picture taken by a laughing Remus, who usually held the Marauders camera during mealtimes, being the least likely to make a fool out of himself.

"Did you want to stay like that all night?" Hermione asked even as Sirius grabbed a few napkins and began to quickly wipe the tart off his face. "Missed a few spots," she managed to say between her laughs when he had done about half of his face.

Sirius grumbled but smiled at her, glad she wasn't mad enough to not joke around with him. Thirteen napkins later, he ran his hands over his now hopefully clean face, boy was he going to take a long shower tonight. With a renewed vigor, he dug back into his treacle tart, although a good amount of it had ended up spread out among napkins and would never be eaten.

Remus and Hermione were still chortling merrily, helping support each other to remain seated. "I wonder," Remus began, tears running down his cheeks, "if he knows a cleaning charm. I'm pretty sure they taught us one in third year. Although, he is a bit of a slob so his lack of knowledge would make sense I suppose."

OH! A cleaning charm. Sirius performed one quickly, getting the last remnants out of his eyebrows and then sighed dramatically.

The rest of dessert was a quiet affair, although not an upleasant one as Hermione seemed to have forgotten her threat regarding Sirius. And so it was with tired yawns that they all headed up to the dormitories, except for her as she had a meeting with Dumbledore. For now, her slip up remained forgotten from Sirius' mind.

**A/N: Woops. Forgot my disclaimer, so none of this is mine, I'm just playing in JK Rowlings sandbox... very nice sandbox too. And last chapter, I stole a line from a Shakespeare and modified it to fit in. And the little bit of the song was Cheap Tricks, and I had Sirius sing it because I saw 10 Things I Hate About You the other day and I thought of Heath Ledger apologizing to the girl, except I'm not following with the whole detention rescue.**

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, sorry it wasn't too funny. Sirius is a bit over his head right now, disorientated and all that, and he was a bit moody in this chapter, for good reason though. Sorry, I can't really write Sirius because I feel like he would just be looking at girls the entire time, but since I am one, I don't know what would be going through a boys head and I dont want to make him a chauvinistic pig.

Next chapter and its back to Hermione's point of view. (and possibly a reflection on her conversation with Lily)

Thanks for reviewing AbsinthePierson, supernaturalmuse, laplam (sorry, he just stayed with Remus because he doesn't feel too comfortable around Hermione), this-love-is-sirius (hehe, I used the choice thing in her mini-argument with Sirius), Jade (thanks for the shortcut, lol), zaraki.chan, HarryxPotterx4ever, and Readerforlife. And for everyone who added me to their alerts, sorry I've lost track of who've I already thanked so I'm just going to thank you all right now.

Trust me, big smile on my face which means good things for next chapter.

Abrista

(ps, eeks,I forgot to post this, but I had it ready this morning. / sorry it took so long)


	5. The Truth in Dumbledore's Office

**A/N: Disclaimer: none of this is mine, but JK Rowlings!**

**Thanks to _CancerChic, Jade, zaraki.chan, Readerforlife, Tracy, laplam, HarryxPotterx4ever, and marauderbabe289 _for reviewing. You are all amazing!**

**Enjoy the chapter, and please review! **

**Abrista**

_The Truth of Dumbledore's Office_

"Now, Miss Granger, I must warn you not to speak of the future to me," Professor Dumbledore began as they sipped tea in his office.

Hermione sent him a curious look, but understood that time was not something to mess around with. "Okay, sir, but how soon can I go back? I've already messed up, and in a big way. And I never accredited my knowledge to visions, but something I said wont be explainable by that. Oh dear," she clutched her head with a moan.

"I'm assuming that you know a few of your fellow seventh years already, although I'm sure in a different role than your peers. You recognized them?" Hermione nodded. "Wherein lies the problem?"

"I-I said that I had been sorted before," Hermione gasped.

Professor Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs as he contemplatively stared into Hermione's worried gaze. He was much younger than the Dumbledore she knew, but he still had that twinkle in his grandfatherly eyes and a genial manner.

"I see," he replied, and Hermione knew he did. He understood everything that had already happened. "Well, I find that in situations such as these, the truth is often the best answer. Please do warn them that it would be quite serious if this went around school. I trust you know whom to trust."

Hermione couldn't believe she was going to tell the Marauders she was from the future. And Dumbledore was recommending it! Wasn't that playing around with time? What if she returned home to find out she didn't even exist? Well, she would probably be still around, but would Harry? Would Hogwarts have survived the first war? Would there even be a second war?

"I can see by your expression that you're scared of changing the future, but remember this, Miss Granger, there is no luck or coincidence when magic iseHer accounted for. You are here for a reason."

"When can I return home?" she asked dumbly.

"Well, the magic has yet to be developed. Although, if you know your fellow students, I'd say you could just live this life until the year is your own."

Hermione blanched. Never go home? Spend 20 years so she could watch her friends grow up in their own generation. That would be horrible.

"You have a long day tomorrow, the first day of classes and many new things, I'm sure. Sleep would help you, Miss Granger."

"Of course, goodnight sir," she mumbled, stumbling out of his office as he replied the same to her.

Never go home? She wandered the halls, her feet instinctively taking her to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Are you alright dearie?" she asked in a concerned tone.

Hermione nodded her reply and stated the password Lily had told her before they parted ways and walked into the common room. Most Gryffindors had gone to the dormitories already, but one group of seventh years were dominating the spot by the fire, _the same spot Harry, Ron, and Hermione had always sat. Never again could she sit with them._

They called her over, and she walked over only to flop to the floor in a depressing manner.

"Bad news?" Remus asked sympathetically, while casting a privacy charm on the group. The action didn't go unnoticed by Hermione and she knew that they were getting ready to grill her for information.

"I can't ever go home," she supplied dully, subtly reinforcing Remus' magic with her on, and adding a silencing ward while she was at it.

Sirius glanced up, the firelight flickering over his figure in an alluring manner. "Well, that's not too bad, is it? I mean, an orphanage isn't the best place for a lovely lady such as yourself anyway."

Tears glinted in the light as they made their way down Hermione's face. She drew herself up, tucking her head in her knees as she gazed into the fire. Maybe if she pretended she was looking at the fire in her own time the feeling of homesickness would go away.

"Mione, whats wrong?" James asked softly, coming to sit next to him.

Wordlessly she turned to him and hid her sobs into his shirt.

There was a general shifting around her, she could vaguely feel her magic shields being disrupted, and a musky scented figure sat on her left and slowly drew her onto his lap. It was a boy, she could tell from the low key but pleasant and spicy cologne. Too masculine for a girl. She didn't care.

Words were mumbled in the background, but they were not important to her, nor were they directed at her. In fact, the only important thing was to completely soak the front of the boy's robes, and only then would she know that she had cried enough.

She had no idea when she stopped crying, or for how long she had cried, but the fire was near its embers and her throat was sore from the dry sobs. Every thought of every alternative and every solution she could even consider had been processed and discarded. Even in her time, there had been no way to send people to the future, only to the past. That's why time wasn't messed around with, that's why time turners could only be used at a few hours at a time, so no one could be irreversibly stuck. Like she was.

"Hermione," Sirius whispered, his voice low and rusty from disuse. "Er, this probably sounds stupid, but is everything alright?"

Hermione hiccupped before breaking into a loud laugh. Alright? Just the idea of ludicrous. She started to roll into a ball, but Sirius was quick to half pull her into his lap, laying her across his chest where his fingers could idly play with her long tresses of hair. For such an annoying person, it felt surprisingly good.

"No," she replied in a scratchy voice, not bothering to try to hide something that was that obvious, or use sarcasm, which would not be appreciated.

"Well, I'm all ears."

Professor Dumbledore had told her she could tell people.

"Its just that, I can't go home," she repeated, staring deeply into the fire, begging piteously for it to tell her some long waited answers.

Sirius gently ran his hand up and down her back, even going so far as to rub her shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Why can't you go home?"

"Because my home isn't a place you can reach by train, or by boat, or by broomstick, floo powder, not even apparition! But if I stay here, I might not have a home to go back to."

"You never lived in an orphanage. Did you?"

Hermione let out a high laugh, there was no humor in it. Shaking her head, she softly agreed, "No, I never lived in an orphanage. I lived with my parents, I'm a muggleborn."

"Why did you lie?" he asked sharply, his hands resting on each of her shoulders and jerking her body so that it faced his.

Hermione shook her head violently and cast her eyes down, his burning gaze was too strong for her. "No, I… I can't say."

"Why Hermione? Why? Just tell me, we don't have to tell the others!"

Because I'm not from this year, maybe. Because I know that you'll _die_ soon after escaping from _Azkaban. _You'll leave my best friend _alone_ when he finally thought he found a parental figure… a best friend that is the _child_ of your best friend, but him and his wife will be _dead_ soon.

"You don't want to know." Hermione broke free from his grasp and swung himself forward, her hair dangerously close to the hot coals.

Sirius flopped down next to her, laying his head on hands against the floor and stared at her. Hair was falling over his face, but neither lifted a hand to move it. "Hermione, there's nothing about you that could stop me from feeling the way I do," he raised a hand as she opened her mouth to protest, "except for you being a Death Eater, or a spy for one. And I know you wouldn't admit to it, if you were, but I need you to tell me you aren't. Please, Hermione."

Hermione laughed bitterly. "Why the hell do you think I hate the Slytherin's so much, I can tell you which ones will be serving Voldemort, which ones will have children that will serve the offspring in years to come. I could never kiss a Death Eater, not after what I've been through."

"And what have you been through?"

"War."

"We have too, we've been fighting Voldemort for ages, the Great Hall has never been so empty because families have been torn apart by war. I know what your going through, I can help you through it."

Hermione shook her head sadly. He was living in a period of war, but she had been on the front lines fighting. "No, no its different. Where I come from, they don't care about ages. My two best friends and I have been fighting the war since we were eleven! Those first years, scrawny little kids, eh? We were the scrawniest, tiniest of the bunch, yet we fought battles that would surpass seventh years. You're living through the war, I've been living in war, growing up in war."

"So that's how you've seen death. The thestrals, you could see them," Sirius clarified when she shot him a confused look.

A horror crossed her face and she diverted her glance, shivering widely.

"No, its okay, you don't have to talk about it. But I knew there was something wrong when you could see them, I mean, I can of course, being raised by purebloods."

"James can't see them, he asked me what I had been petting."

Sirius let out a shallow laugh. "Lets just say that my pureblood is of a different and darker consistency than his, figuratively speaking of course. My parents are righteous supporters of the Dark Lord," Sirius sneered angrily. "And James parents are Aurors raiding my parents' and their friends' houses."

Hermione wondered what would happen to James' parents, they obviously wouldn't have been alive when James and Lily died or they would have taken custody of Harry.

"I wish that was as close to the war as you'll get, but I know that war doesn't exclude anyone, no one can hide from it."

Sirius yawned loudly and nodded his head in affirmation. He beckoned with one arm to Hermione who obliged him by shifting over. With sleep clouding his eyes, he snuggled her up tight against his side and buried his head in the piles of curls that had fallen across her face. _Thank god they were brown again._ She could feel his hot breath on her collarbone.

"Sirius, we should just go up to bed," she giggled, although not trying to squirm away from the delicious feeling.

"Mmhmm, we are going to bed," he yawned again. Opening one bleary eye, he stared into her half closed chocolate ones. "May I kiss you?"

Hermione's eyes flew open and she could feel herself staring down at him in consternation. Kiss? She hadn't had her first kiss, Viktor had certainly tried but she had always averted her lips at the last moment. And the war hadn't exactly left her time for a boyfriend. It seemed, however, that she didn't have control over her bodily functions, as her head nodded yes. Would it be a searing kiss, the type that led to hot, passionate… well whatever came after kissing in movies. Or would it be the soft, loving kind that Prince Charming delivered.

She vaguely wondered if the fear in her mind was being displayed across her face, or even playing a game in her eyes. She half-closed her eyes, just in case.

Whatever she had been expecting, it wasn't exactly this. "Goodnight," Sirius had whispered huskily, right before letting his soft lips cover hers, both their mouths closed. It lasted only a second, but it was warm, comforting, and _amazing._

"Goodnight, she mumbled back, letting her head rest on his chest as he placed his head on top of hers.

Hermione awoke rubbing her eyes viciously, there had been a flash of light, but not a spell. It was white, maybe even colorless, but no spell she knew of fit that category. One hand was fingering her wand even as she jumped up to face her attackers only to find… _the Marauders_. And a camera.

"Oh," she said sheepishly, sitting back down and leaning casually against Sirius. "Morning."

"You're a light sleeper," Remus remarked, sitting in a couch near the fire.

Hermione nodded guilty before checking Sirius. He was slightly snoring and his mouth was wide open. "He's not," she giggled.

"Nah, it takes an earthquake to wake Padfoot here," James said with a smile. "So what did you to do last night?"

Hermione glared. "We talked." Ignoring the looks the Marauders were exchanging, she bent over Sirius and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He didn't even move in his sleep. "Sirius… Sirius," she called softly, bending down to press a light kiss to his cheeks. Almost grudgingly, his body moved in his sleep, arching closer to her. "Sirius," she whispered, pressing light kisses to his closed eyelids and then his nose.

"Morning," he said, startling her into jumping back. Before she could reprimand him, he sprang forward and tackled her to the ground. "In case you were wondering," he said in between light kisses to her cheeks. "I forgive you for waking me up," he finished, kissing her in that amazingly soft and chaste manner of his on the lips.

"Boy will that be a good picture," Remus said, interrupting his best friend.

Sirius rolled off where he had Hermione pinned and lifted himself from the ground, he gave her a hand up after a moment of thought.

"Going to breakfast like that?" James asked inquisitively. "It started five minutes ago."

"Eeks," Hermione said, before performing two quick cleaning charms. "It'll do for now," she sighed before running upstairs to grab her books and visit the mirror quickly. She _did _have somebody to impress after all.

When she returned down a few minutes later, she could hear the Marauders talking about her in low tones. Even though it meant berating herself, she eavesdropped.

"I just don't think she's a spy," Sirius was saying, his arms angrily crossed over her chest. He was standing with his back to the fire with James next to him, looking equally as agitated, and Remus and Pettigrew (_No, Peter,_ Hermione reminded herself, she was going to give him a chance after all) standing across from him.

"Yeah, see, that's the thing, she probably hoodwinked you or something," Remus snarled. "You too, James."

Sirius scoffed loudly, balling his fists up. "Oh, when she was crying her eyes out, or when she fell into a troubled sleep, do you know how many times she called out during the night, or begged for her parents to forgive her, but she has to help kill Voldemort? She told me that we're different, us Marauders, we live through the war, she's part of the war."

Even James looked surprised at that, but he quickly accepted the words Sirius was saying. She couldn't believe he was telling them all that, sure it might help her in the long run, but it made her feel so vulnerable.

"That's enough, Sirius," she said softly as she crossed the floor, canceling the spell she had used to carry their voices across the room. It wasn't the same magic as extendable ears, in fact, it was much more difficult magic, and it worked through Imperturbable Charm. Over the past year, Hermione had become an expert at the spell, as her, Harry, and Ron had spied on every Order meeting.

The Marauders were silent as she reached them; the four of them were so similar, yet their reactions were all so different. Sirius was looking almost scared, thinking she was going to reprehend him; James looked sorrowful, as if he knew trouble was coming. Remus looked pleased, hopeful that answers were finally coming; and Peter's face was blank. She couldn't read him at all.

"Thank you James, for believing me," she said while reaching to grasp Sirius' hand lightly and squeezing. "And you, of course," she added as an afterthought. "Remus, Peter, I don't expect you to trust me, and it is a time of war so I cannot say I blame you. I have never been the most trusting of people in my past experiences either, and so I think you all deserve as much of the truth as I can tell you. Professor Dumbledore has given me permission, but what I tell you cannot leave this group or everything could be destroyed. I can't tell you too much, for the same reason."

And just as Hermione began to spill the beans, Sirius' stomach growled loudly. Blushing, he smiled and said, "Er, how 'bout you tell us this during an off period, I'm starving!"

With those words, the atmosphere brightened considerably. Remus and Peter looked much less tense, although she knew she still didn't have their trust. James and Sirius each hooked an arm with her and together they skipped out of the common room.

"We'reee OFF to see the WIZARD, the WONDERFUL wizard of OZ!" James started to bellow at the top of his longs. Sirius quickly joined in, and charmed Hermione's outfit into that of Dorothy's. James added the ruby red shoes, and Hermione performed a quick braiding spell to complete the image. Grinning wickedly, she quickly transfigured the two of them into midgets.

The war had meant advanced lessons for the Golden Trio, and she was far past seventh year spells, including human transfiguration.

"How do you know that song?" she asked, giggling as they sang the last note. They had just reached the Great Hall and the three skipped in like that.

To say the hall was shocked would be an understatement. The purebloods were amazed at the spectacle, and a bit confused. The halfbloods who had some muggle world interactions were laughing loudly, and the muggleborns looked as if the apocalypse had come. The first years especially were squealing, ducking under tables, and looking around nervously for the Wicked Witch of the West. In their minds, all the magical stories they had been told as children had just come true.

"Miss Granger, if you don't mind returning to your proper uniform, as these are school hours. And what have you done to Mr. Black and Mr. Potter, oh dear!" Professor McGonagall was across the room in a flash, not fooled by the altered appearances. With a quick wave of her hand, the two boys grew several feet and Hermione was suddenly in all black again. Although, she was still several inches higher than usual and her hair remained in their braids.

"Thank you, Minnie," Sirius simpered, giving a low bow. "This evil seductress had us trapped in those forms for-"

"Minutes, thank you, after you made me into Dorothy. You forgot Toto, though."

"On your way," Professor McGonagall said sharply, turning back to the Head Table.

Sirius grinned wolfishly at Hermione before leaning down and whispering, "So, do you like role play?" Before yelping and running off towards Gryffindor table, Hermione sprinting after him trying to whack him over the head again.

The remaining Marauders caught up to a cross looking Lily staring disproving between a red faced Hermione and a nonchalant Sirius.

"Sit down, Potter," she snapped. He did so without a question, giving a desperate look to Remus or Peter who sidled away to sit on the other side of the table. "Now, since these two seem incapable of any form of explanation, perhaps the _Head Boy_ can tell me what that spectacle was!"

It took all of James' self control not to snort with laughter, it seemed that Sirius was sharing his predicament while Hermione was looking mortified with guilt.

"Lily, its just a bit of fun, no harm done," he said offhandedly as he started to load his plate with food.

Lily glared at him, snatching his plate away from him as he went to dump a spoonful of applesauce. It ended up in his mouth instead, his eyes wide with surprise. No amount of puppy dog look deterred Lily from holding his plate hostage.

"You are Head Boy, James, you're supposed to be setting an example!" she hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes dangerously flashing.

Remus calmly lifted the plate from Lily's grasp and sent it back over the table to James, whose expression mirrored a five year old's on Christmas morning, overpowering delight in other words.

"Remember who was Head Boy when we were firsties, set a great example," Sirius reminisced pensively.

James nodded in agreement. "Fabian Prewett, him and Gideon are Gods of pranking."

Hermione just smiled, looking at a disappointed Lily. "Boys will be boys."

Although she allowed them to eat their meal, Lily spent the entire time clucking at them with an air of disappointment. And it was with the same tact she had employed when persecuting the threesome for their morning frivolities that she asked Hermione how you were feeling.

"I remember being rather homesick in my own first year, I had never even been to sleepaway camp before going to Hogwarts. It wore off quickly though, there's always so much to do, so much to learn! And besides, the holidays will be here before you know it." By the sudden horrorstricken look on Hermione's face, Lily guessed that this was the wrong train of thought. And in her attempts to pacify the near hysterics girl, she failed to notice the Marauders slipping off, mouthing a small _Thanks_, in her direction. She accepted it with a small nod that she hid from Lily with a hiccup.

"-the holidays have never been my favorite part of the year either, Halloween is just creepy, and there's all that mistletoe just hanging about-"

"You don't like Christmas because James always charms a mistletoe to follow him around and ends up kissing a hundred girls while he looks for you," Sirius said, slipping into the seat next to Hermione.

"You-You go looking for me?" she asked in a tremulous voice to James, who nodded with a very Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

"He always charms the one infested with nargles in them and then wonders afterwards why his hair is so tangled for the next year," Sirius added, slipping one hand in Hermione's and the other to his fork.

"Nargles? Really Sirius, I thought we had trained you out of that belief," Lily said skeptically. Personally Hermione agreed with the disbelief, at times, Sirius sounded just as crazy as Luna.

Before she could agree with Lily, however, she caught sight of Professor McGonagall going along the table and passing out schedules. The boys, having followed her glance, were smirking triumphantly.

"Oh, excellent, hope we have potions first," Lily said as the Professor reached them.

Hermione, knowing what to look for, caught sight of the flash of light of each schedule as soon as they reached the students hands. And from the snickers going around the room, she could tell it was a prank.

"Er, interesting classes this year," James said, trying, and subsequently failing, to sound innocent.

With a heavy sigh, Hermione looked down to see a normal looking schedule, except…

"Oh, we have sex ed first, with the Slythering Dorks," she said. "I've never had a sex ed class before, is it interesting."

"I dunno, it's a new class this year, I suppose."

Sirius winked slyly at Hermione. "At least we have Drugs and Legalities with the Huff and Puff's."

"_Sex ed,_" Lily snarled. "_Slythering Arses? Drugs and Legalities? HUFF AND PUFFS?"_

"You're right," Peter moaned, "Slythering Arses wasn't too creative. I knew we should have gone with something more vulgar."

Hermione kissed Sirius lightly on the cheek, "I'll see you later," she added as he fled with the rest of the Marauders and most of the students. Looked like classes would be put off another day.

Unfortunately, Hermione was left with a seething Lily who was stalking up to the Professor's table and angrily showing her schedule to them. Things were going to get ugly, fast, Hermione decided as she finished off her orange juice and sprinted from the hall.


End file.
